


It All Started On A Train Ride

by zxrysky



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Cloud is the Director of SOLDIER, Gen, bamf cloud, first fic, he fixes everything, without being in SOLDIER
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-28 11:04:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2730095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zxrysky/pseuds/zxrysky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lazard, the bastard, forced this job onto innocent, wide-eyed Cloud while on the train to Midgard. All the boy ever wanted was to go to Midgar and join SOLDIER, hopefully meet Sephiroth and the other SOLDIER First Class, and live life happily as a SOLDIER and send money back to his mother. </p><p>Instead, he got a job pushed onto him, and now he has to deal with a LOT more than what he expected. He was trying to join SOLDIER as an actual SOLDIER, goddammit, not as the Director of SOLDIER.</p><p>Cloud didn't know whether he should feel appalled, amused, or delighted.</p><p>At least he still got to meet Sephiroth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It All Started On A Train Ride

Before Cloud got it into his head to become SOLDIER, he was first and foremost a scholar.

 

The two s-words sort of rhymed anyways, it didn’t really come as a surprise to him.

 

His mother was a hoarder, like every other Strife (or so she said) in the family. Every Strife hoarded something, and they kept that something like a  _treasure_. For Cloud, when he grew up, it became swords, but for Mama Strife, it was books. Shelves and shelves of books that spanned from wall to wall in more than one room. Cloud grew up reading about dragons that were slayed by princes in shining armour, about the history of Gaia and the speculations of Mako, about Shinra’s rise and continued rise, and about different ways that  _real_  dragons could be killed by people who  _weren’t_  princes and didn’t have shining armour.

 

For a good part of his childhood, Cloud was friendless and lonely, a too old child stuck in a too young body. He spent most of his time in his mother’s library, reading and rereading and filing everything away ten feet deep in his mind. He had read the  _How to attack Nibelheim Dragons and Survive_  at least ten times, and armed with two daggers and a gun (that actually had no bullets, because Cloud was  _nine_ , and his mother wasn’t about to leave loaded guns in the drawer that her little boy could reach), Cloud set off to the infamous Nibelheim mountains to find himself a dragon to kill. The book  _had_  specifically said  _attack_ , but Cloud figured that the words attack and kill were pretty much synonymous anyways.

 

He came back with his clothes singed (scorched was a far better term, but Cloud wasn’t about to admit that he got  _scorched_ ), gun lost, bent daggers tucked into his falling pants, huge grin on his face, and his hair a good two inches shorter. It was a bit of an embarrassment to admit that he had got this way because of a  _baby_  dragon, not even fully mature to hunt by itself - its mother had watched on approvingly as Cloud got attacked, and had been… gracious enough to let Cloud flee. Could dragons even be gracious? Or more importantly, could  _Nibelheim_  dragons be gracious? Cloud wasn’t sure he wanted to look further into it.

 

It was later on that memorable day that Cloud realised his love for sharp and pointy things. Like daggers, but preferably longer. Something like that beautiful looking sword that the Hero, Sephiroth, wielded. Sephiroth with his sword was the fanciest thing Cloud had ever seen, and he really wanted to join SOLDIER and be like him.

 

But his mother came first, and Cloud, being the ever filial boy that he was, decided to fulfil his mother’s dream and become a scholar. His mother had had an entire future laid out in front of her, with a scholarship to one of the best universities in Gaia, but then she met Cloud’s father, and decided to pull a Romeo and Juliet without the dying in the end and all the family mayhem. They eloped, had a kid - named Cloud Strife,  _obviously_  - and then Cloud’s father performed a disappearing trick, never to be seen again.

 

Cloud’s mother had dedicated herself to ensure that Cloud had a proper upbringing, be it single parent or not, and what Cloud wanted to do was let his mother see her dream be fulfilled, even if it was a different person fulfilling it.

 

* * *

 

He studied and studied and studied, and at the age of 15, he graduated with the degree that his mother had always wanted. Of course, the name on it was “Cloud Strife”, but his mother had been pleased nonetheless. Most of the people in the university graduated at age 20, but Cloud - being Cloud - had fought for a chance to graduate early, because he  _really_  wanted to join SOLDIER and meet Sephiroth and if he joined at 20, he’d probably be the oldest cadet there was.

 

Cloud left his degree at home, framed and hung up in the library, bid his mother a hearty farewell and at the age of sixteen, left to go to Midgar and join Shinra to be a SOLDIER.

 

When he met a senior graduate that had the left the university two years before him on the  _train_  to Midgar, Cloud didn’t know if it was a coincidence, or something  _scheduled_ , because in the three years that he knew Lazard, the man was a sneaky bastard and he  _never_  did anything on accident. Or at least, if he did, he would twist it to fit his goals. Somehow.

 

Lazard was a sneaky bastard with a too long last name ( _Deusericus_ ,  _honestly!_ ) that had somehow,  _somehow_ , managed to con Cloud into becoming the new Director of SOLDIER, all on a two hour train ride to Midgar.

 

Frankly, Cloud didn’t know whether to applaud or to kill the man right there and then. Killing him was more of a last option, because like it or not, Lazard was still,  _currently_ , the Director of SOLDIER, but he would later be taking over the job as Vice-President of Shinra. The old bag that was the current President Shinra had decided that his  _son_ , Rufus Shinra, was “untrustworthy”, Lazard told him. “The President believes that his son wants to have too many changes in Shinra, and with a Vice-President that opposes him every step of the way, instead of giving him, and I quote, ‘sound advice that will help in the advancement of Shinra’. So he hired me.”

 

Cloud thought that it was a stupid reason, and by the way that Lazard pinched the top of his nose and sighed, the soon to be Vice-President thought the same.

 

“I think his secretary told him what to say,” Lazard later confided to Cloud as their train pulled into the station. “The man is pretty bad at running a company, and I highly suspect that he doesn’t actually have that high of a cognitive function,  _nor_  that big of a vocabulary, to phrase his reasons like  _that_.”

 

“But if I’m to be the new, uh, Director of SOLDIER, I  _can_  still apply to become a SOLDIER, right?”

 

Lazard shrugged. “Nothing’s stopping you, I suppose.”

 

“Okay,” Cloud replied. “Because that’s what I came here for, and if by agreeing to this job, I wouldn’t be allowed to accomplish my goal, Shinra will find themselves one new Vice-President short by the morrow, and it’s not going to be the son of the President.”

 

“See, that kind of attitude is why I know you can survive as the Director of SOLDIER. Take no shit from anyone, not even the First Class.”

 

It took Cloud a moment for all the information to process in his mind. “Oh my  _god_ , I’m going to be of a higher rank than  _Sephiroth_.”

 

Lazard grinned at him, before starting in the direction of the Shinra building. "Come drop by later when you've got your SOLDIER application form all filled in and submitted. I'll get someone to process it and get your dorm bunk for you too. Least I could do after I pushed this job onto you."

 

"You should be grovelling at my feet for forgiveness," Cloud told him, and Lazard merely grinned.

 

* * *

 

A week later, Cloud had settled in as a cadet, the runt of his class and yet, at least ten ranks higher than all of them. Maybe actually five, probably just four ranks higher. But who was counting? Cloud certainly wasn't. It was a harsh blow to his ego, when his fellow cadets could successfully intimidate the new Director of SOLDIER.

 

But when he met Sephiroth for the first time, two weeks after joining Shinra and becoming the Director of SOLDIER, it had been a most enlightening experience. Cloud didn't know about Sephiroth, but he had practised his introduction in front of the mirror a good fifteen times.

 

When his idol had spent a good five seconds staring at him before shaking his head, Cloud couldn't resist a small laugh. The man was no Director of SOLDIER, but he still had the paperwork of all the aspiring cadets hoping to join his division, and with Cloud’s unique hair, the First Class had a memorable look plastered on his face when he saw the cadet lounging in the huge roller seat of Director of SOLDIER.

 

"If I'm not wrong," Sephiroth started, while the other two First Class, Angeal and Genesis blinked at the silver haired man. If Lazard was right, Sephiroth only answered questions, and curtly at that, refusing to start any conversation whatsoever. Cloud was privately delighted that his hero had started a conversation ( _Sephiroth_  was actually starting a conversation with him!  _Cloud Strife!_ ), and leaned forward, grinning.

 

"If you're not wrong about what, sir?"

 

"If I'm not wrong, you are a cadet and should be at your Tactics class right now. Care to explain this sudden turn of events, Cadet Strife?"

 

"Lazard cleared me," Cloud shrugged. "He was the one who threw this job at me, anyways. Bastard."

 

" _Cadet_ Cloud Strife? If you're a cadet, then why the hell are you the Director of SOLDIER?" Genesis demanded.

 

"I just graduated from the same university as Lazard did, just last year, with a degree in business and managing which also includes accounting. Lazard was going to be bumped up to Vice-President, and I supposed he deemed me fit of taking over this job. His next alternative would have been Sephiroth,  but no offense sir, you suck at dealing with budgets and accounting. Most of the time, your numbers don't even add up. I don't think Lazard would have felt very safe entrusting this job to you."

 

Sephiroth blinked, before a faint scowl marred his features. Genesis laughed, nudging his friend. "People shouldn't let the Silver General near money, should they, Angeal?"

 

"I don't understand how we haven't noticed your, uh, lack of proficiency at budgeting," Angeal nodded. "With the way you splurge on chocolate and  _forget_  your expenses... I think Genesis and I should have seen this coming from a mile away."

 

Cloud smiled in a very satisfied manner, before calling the impromptu meeting adjourned, since he actually wanted to get back to his Tactics class so that he could pass the SOLDIER exam. The meeting was just for the Firsts to get to know their new Director of SOLDIER, anyways.

 

* * *

 

Three months in the job - which Cloud now understood why Lazard ditched, paperwork  _everywhere_  - and Cloud found something he was probably not supposed to find. He had been pretty upset two days ago, when his commander had told them to work with plastic swords that  _wobbled_  (seriously, when Cloud hit it against his thigh and lifted the sword up, it shook like a piece of jelly. He wasn’t sure how they were supposed to train with them) because they were short on funds, and SOLDIER required all the funds they could have with the war. Apparently, there wasn’t even enough funds for  _proper, wooden training swords_. Cloud didn’t want to think about what would happen when they were supposed to move on to training with metal swords. Maybe they’d bring out all the rusted ones.

 

Cloud was poking at the numbers, and found it a bit strange that the numbers didn’t add up, before he referred to the budgets of the other divisions. The Public Safety’s division had a sudden  _sharp_  increase in budget, that Cloud was sure if it didn’t go to what was a euphemism for the military, it would be in SOLDIER’s budget, being put to some damn good use.

 

He called up Lazard, and spent a good hour telling him (in a very controlled manner, no matter what Lazard said, Cloud did  _not_  raise his voice in any manner at all) why Heidegger should be sued, demoted, kicked out of Shinra, preferably thrown into jail (the very jail that Heidegger’s  _military division_  was in charge of), and if possible, killed for embezzling from Shinra. Cloud wasn’t upset about the plastic wobbly swords for practice because of the ‘ _tight_ ’ budget (okay, he was, but just a little bit), he was more upset about the fact that the SOLDIERs out there, in the field, sacrificing their  _lives_  for Shinra, were not getting the ammunition, the food rations, the water rations that they  _needed_ , because of a selfish pig’s (no seriously, Heidegger was a pig, did you see that man’s  _waistline_?) greedy desires.

 

Cloud  _did_ , in fact, get Heidegger sued, demoted, kicked out of Shinra,  _and_  thrown into the very jail - that Heidegger used to be in charge of - for embezzling funds from Shinra, but he did not, sadly, get the man killed.

 

As it was, when he informed the Firsts of Heidegger’s…  _stealing_ , Cloud hadn’t really wanted to restrain Sephiroth from going to slaughter the man himself.

 

With the  _proper_  funds going in the  _proper_  direction, in the  _proper_  budget, Cloud could very happily swing around his new wooden sword during Weapons class, and not deal with that jelly sword anymore. The SOLDIER troops in Wutai also got a  _huge_  improvement and increase in materials, which was what they deserved, really.

 

What Cloud felt that he didn’t deserve, six months into the SOLDIER cadet course and a day after the SOLDIER exams, was that he didn’t  _pass_. He didn’t get into SOLDIER, he  _failed_.

 

Cloud failed to enter the division that he was  _directing_.

 

It was the paperwork, he told himself. Too much paperwork hampered a guy’s ability to be awesome, and hence, because of all the sudden excess work, Cloud’s name was  _not_  on that shitty piece of paper that was stuck on the billboard outside the dorm.

 

He called for an immediate meeting with the Firsts, scowling as he settled in his chair.

 

“I heard you didn’t get into SOLDIER,” Angeal broke the silence first, offering a small smile. “You can always try again.”

 

“I didn’t get into SOLDIER,” Cloud said abruptly. “I didn’t get into the very division I  _direct_.” He sounded like he was in shock.

 

Sephiroth crossed his legs and slid a piece of paper across the paper to Cloud. “We aren’t usually allowed to do this, but since you are, the Director of SOLDIER, and you would be able to access this eventually, this is your progress report, and it also states why you were not promoted. The instructors had a reason for not promoting you, Cadet Strife, and a good option would be to join the infantry before coming to retake the SOLDIER exam after the mandatory four months.”

 

“Don’t call me cadet,” Cloud replied automatically. “I’m your director.”

 

“But you are, still his cadet,” Genesis pointed out with a smirk.

 

Cloud folded his arms and scowled, seeming to be floating about in deep thought before he started. “That’s it,” he declared solemnly. “Henceforth, I am going on a temporary hiatus from being the Director of SOLDIER, so that I can adequately focus on what I actually  _came_  to Midgar to  _do_ , which is join SOLDIER as an actual SOLDIER, and not as the Director. I am going to leave, and the next time you see me in this office, I will be a Third Class SOLDIER,” Cloud announced.

 

There was a short silence, before Genesis said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

 

“It’s a perfectly acceptable reason,” Cloud told Genesis. “And as the current Director of SOLDIER, I am henceforth acknowledging and approving my temporary hiatus from work. Angeal can be in charge of the paperwork and budgeting for now, because I don’t trust Sephiroth around money, and I don’t think Genesis can focus for such long periods of time before hiding away in LOVELESS.”

 

“You can’t do this,” Sephiroth protested weakly, looking for all the world like he already regretted telling Cloud that he could not join SOLDIER.

 

“You’ll see that I can, General.” Cloud took a deep breath, before pausing for a heartbeat. “Pulling rank over Sephiroth is actually quite a rush, I should put Genesis in charge next time, so that he can hold rank over Sephiroth’s head.

 

“Oh  _please_ ,” Genesis purred. “That is a  _brilliant_  idea, Director. One of your  _better_  ones, I must say.”

 

Cloud nodded. “Oh, I know, Genesis. I  _know_.”

 

Angeal just laughed, while Sephiroth blinked in outrage.

 

* * *

 

Two months as an infantryman, and Cloud was ready to give up on his hiatus and just throw away all thoughts of SOLDIER. The ugly commander named Gary was not only  _hideous_ , but also  _fat_ , and Cloud personally felt that the way he yelled at the infantrymen to “RUN FASTER YOU MAGGOTS! ARE YOU A MAN OR A WOMAN, YA BITCHES!” was unreasonable, seeing as if  _Gary_  were to be running on the same track, Cloud thought the man would be the last of the straggling pack.

 

But he supposed training as an infantryman wasn’t  _that_  bad. The lessons were fairly easy to keep up with, and more focus was placed on ensuring that  _everyone_  knew the material, instead of the SOLDIER cadet course in which one either knew, or didn’t. The instructors from SOLDIER focused on the high flying cadets, and simply ignored the not so high flying cadets, which looking back, Cloud supposed he wasn’t flying all that high in class during the SOLDIER cadet course.

 

The swords were a heck load better than the ones the SOLDIER cadets had, that was sure. Cloud made a personal note in his mind to tell Angeal to factor in the upgrades of the weapons used in the SOLDIER cadet course. Those were pitiful. He would never forget the jelly swords.

 

And on one fine day, two months more to his retake of the SOLDIER exam, a relatively tall boy in a navy uniform with musculature that was  _obviously_  SOLDIER came bouncing up to him with a “Hey there, I’m Zack, what’s your name?” and a huge sword on his back.

 

 _Oh no_ , Cloud thought.  _It’s Angeal’s puppy_.

 

“I’m Cloud,” he replied automatically, reaching out to grip Zack’s hand. “Cloud Strife, infantryman.”

 

“Oh!” Zack said intelligently. “I could tell, you know, from your outfit. Zack Fair, Second Class - but soon First Class! - SOLDIER at your service!”

 

“Nice to meet you,” Cloud said, putting his training sword down. “Can I help you?”

 

“I saw you going through sword katas and swinging your sword around and I thought, hey, why not join in and do a bit of teaching at the same time!” Zack beamed. “Your form is pretty good, for a person twice your height and twice your size. For a tiny chocobo like you, you’re just going to be super off-balance. Hasn’t anyone told you that before?”

 

 _Sephiroth did_ , Cloud idly thought to himself. Once. Or at least  _tried_  to. Cloud was practising sword katas and Sephiroth had just appeared out of nowhere to say “You’re terrible at this. Your form is atrocious. Your-”

 

Cloud had just called Genesis on his PHS to lug Sephiroth away somewhere.

 

Looking back, he was probably trying to tell Cloud that he was terribly off balance, like Zack was telling him now.

 

“And what do you suggest I do?”

 

“Well for one, I think you should stop relying on trying to hit heavy blows for now, at least until you get more muscle,” Zack pointed out, holding his arm out next to Cloud’s for comparison. “You’re tiny, and you should be fast, since you’re tiny, so you should try to work on that. Sneak up on people. Do low shots. Hit under the belt. Don’t play fair. But if you’re focused on swordwork, then, well, do it fast. Two good slices across the chest should do it for a low-level monster, and if you can duck and run and attack as fast as you can run, then you should be able to hold your own against a Third Class for a good fifteen minutes.” Zack paused. “I think,” he tacked on hastily. “I’m pretty sure though!”

 

Cloud wondered why Zack, who had been brought under Angeal’s wing - Angeal, the guy who was an  _amazing_  teacher - was such a horrendous teacher. To give the Second Class some credit, he did  _try_ , but he couldn’t, not really, take anything seriously. Unless he was thrown into a training simulation, of course. Or maybe if he was going up against a First Class. Maybe a fellow Second Class. But against an infantryman that didn’t make through his first SOLDIER exam? Zack wasn’t as serious as Cloud would have liked.

 

But Zack was as good a friend as bad he was a teacher. Which is to say, Zack made for  _great_  conversation. A nice friend.

 

A not so nice friend who kept calling him  _chocobo_  or  _Spikey_.

 

A Second Class SOLDIER was calling the Director of SOLDIER,  _Spikey_.

 

Cloud didn’t know whether to be appalled or ashamed or delighted. He settled for the latter emotion, because Zack  _was_  delightful. Much better that Angeal who kept going on about honor and dignity and dreams. Not to say those were bad things, but hearing lectures over and over again kind of dulled the effect.

 

“I’m going to become First Class in no time,” Zack told Cloud enthusiastically. “Angeal’s gonna get me signed up, and all I need to do is meet the new Director of SOLDIER and get him to let me take on more missions so that I clear for First Class!” He prattled on. “I’m going to be a First Class, Spikey! A First Class SOLDIER in the black outfit like Angeal!”

 

“Mm,” Cloud nodded. “What do you think the new Director of SOLDIER is like?”

 

Zack furrowed his brows. “Well, he  _never_  meets anyone in person, except for the First Class SOLDIERS, I think. But he’s been giving out missions from his PHS or something, maybe, I mean, that’s the only way he could have passed the message along, right? I’ve received a message or two from him informing me of my missions, but I can’t seem to track the number.” Zack pouted, looking at the ceiling. “Angeal says he’s a pretty cool guy, really efficient, and this new Director  _has_  helped us increase our budget… so I’d say he seems pretty cool? Hm. Maybe he’s as fat as Heidegger, that’s why he doesn’t want to show his face.”

 

Cloud choked on his own saliva. “Yeah,” he forced out weakly, cerulean eyes shining with mirth. “He must be that fat, sure, and he’s embarrassed to show that someone so fat was the Director of SOLDIER, the elite force of Shinra.”

 

“Mmhmm!” Zack announced to the empty training room. “I’m brilliant!”

 

* * *

 

Cloud honestly didn’t expect to have to be forced to take his mantle of Director of SOLDIER back up before he made SOLDIER Third Class. He had had enough faith in the three current Firsts to be able to manage the position in his place. But while observing one of their famous fights through the camera installed in the training simulation room (it wasn’t Cloud’s fault, those fights were  _legendary_ , and deep down, Cloud was still a sixteen year old boy who simply  _idolized_  Sephiroth, and lately, Genesis and Angeal as well), Cloud realised that there was something abruptly  _wrong_  with Genesis.

 

Genesis was auburn and crimson and LOVELESS and pretty words with high laughter. This Genesis was all spite and longing for something Coud didn’t understand, with a sudden deep hatred for  _something_  that seemed to be linked to Sephiroth.

 

He stormed the office on the weekend, pressing the button to inform Sephiroth and Angeal that he wanted an immediate meeting in the Director’s office.

 

“I want answers,” Cloud announced, leaning forward in his seat, all frowns and furrowed brows. “What is going on with Genesis, and I want the truth. I saw that fight the three of you had about two days ago, and if the information I have is right, Genesis is currently  _still_  injured. You three should be able to heal from these kind of small scratches in a minute or two, why is Genesis still injured?”

 

The two First Class SOLDIERs shared a look, and Angeal took a deep breath. “Hollander says that the mako seeped into Genesis’ wound,” he said softly. “He calls it degradation. Degrading of the body. Mako isn’t usually supposed to enter wounds, and when it entered Genesis’, well… That’s why he isn’t healing.”

 

There was a short pause, before Cloud rolled his eyes. “Bullshit,” Cloud snorted. “I call bullshit. I live in Nibelheim, and I explored the mountains all the time when I was younger. The old mako reactor there? I triggered something, somehow, and I practically drowned in it for a bit. And mind you, I had just gotten out of a scuffle with two Nibelheim wolves and barely escaped a baby Nibelheim dragon. Did mako seep into my wounds? What do you think? Have I undergone this so called degradation?” His eyes narrowed, and his gaze hardened. “I want all reports of Genesis’ wound, current situation, treatments administered, and any records of Genesis that Shinra has.”

 

Sephiroth looked startled, before muttering quietly. “Genesis is part of Project G. Project Genesis. Objective, Implant the cells of an Ancient into a human fetus to imbue said fetus with the Ancient’s abilities. Personnel in charge, Hollander.” He paused for a moment.

 

“You don’t have to do this,” Angeal told Cloud. “It’s our problem, you don’t need to concern yourself about it. You’re the Director of SOLDIER, it’s alright. This… this is our problem. And you’re not a scientist, you might not understand some things...”

 

“Angeal,” Cloud raised an eyebrow at him. “I graduated from university at fifteen, I was hailed a late blooming child prodigy, and I have done more science papers than I can count at that university. What I don’t understand, I can find out. Besides,” he leaned forward. “I am the Director of SOLDIER. All SOLDIERS are under my jurisdiction, under my care. If Genesis is facing an issue, does it not fall under both my job scope and my responsibility as a human to care?”

 

Both First Class SOLDIERs blinked at him, hesitantly, as if unsure of how to reply.

 

“Mm,” Cloud hummed as he leaned back in his chair. “Ancients, eh?”

 

* * *

 

When Zack introduced him to the pretty flower church girl in the slums, Cloud was fairly startled. He had spent the better half of a month trying to absorb whatever material there was on Ancients, on this supposed ‘degradation’, and on Project G. In short, an immensely tiring job, and when Zack popped out of nowhere to insist on introducing Cloud to his ‘amazing girlfriend who grows flowers in the slums! Flowers in Midgar, can you believe it? She grows them in the church, come  _on_  Spikey, I wanna show you!’ Cloud couldn’t find it in himself to argue.

 

He went along, mind whirring with thoughts of people with soft smiles and eerie green lights and the gentle shine of mako dusting their skin as they made plants grow everywhere on the Planet.

 

Cloud saw the Church, with the daylight filtering in through the broken panels and smashed stained glass, the multitude of flowers blooming on the floor in all the shades of the rumored to exist rainbow, and Cloud  _breathed_.

 

“Are you,” the words tumbled out of his mouth haphazardly and hurriedly. “Are you a Cetra?”

 

The girl - Aerith, was it? - Aerith’s eyes widened, and she shot a look at oblivious, smiling Zack, before nodding slowly, giving Cloud a smile. “I am, but please, don’t go spreading it around?”

 

“Oh thank Gaia,” Cloud said. “I’m terribly sorry, and I know that today was meant to be fun and no business going on, but I really need the help of a Cetra,  _any_  Cetra - if you don’t want to answer my questions, could you please direct me to another?”

 

“Ah, I’m the last Cetra on this Planet,” she told him, eyes crinkling. “Zack, do you mind getting some takeout for us? Wutaian, maybe?”

 

The puppy cocked his head, before shrugging, and with a loud “Don’t steal  _my_  girlfriend, Chocobo-head!”, he was off.

 

Cloud sat down and started talking. “Are Ancients dangerous to humans? Are they of a different species, to the point where if we had a blood transfusion between the two of us, I would slowly die as my cells vehemently refused yours? If we base it off the book and the rumors, Ancients are harmless to humans, and since they are the ones who are in charge of the Lifestream, they hold no ill will towards us, hence they are not, in any way, posing danger to us. Is this correct?”

 

“I’m a half-Ancient,” Aerith said. “My mother was an Ancient, Ifalna, and my father was a human. I have both Ancient and human cells running through my veins Cloud, and I really don’t think that Ancient cells are harmful.”

 

“Is it true that live Ancients can converse with the Ancients that have passed on and are now remaining in the Lifestream?”

 

“Yes,” she smiled a bit at this. “I used to hear my mother’s voice - my true mother, Ifalna - telling me that I would one day reach the Promised Land and find the ultimate happiness. When I grew up, the voice didn’t go away, and more voices joined in. Of course, because they’re floating about in the Lifestream, and that when they lived, they had no true need for proper conversation, their sentences can be a bit stilted, and not very clear.”

 

Cloud nodded. “Understandable. Is there an Ancient whom you know of, or any other Ancients in the Lifestream know of, named Jenova?”

 

Aerith blinked at him, one heartbeat, two, before she blanked out, her eyes misting over. “... No,” she breathed out. “They say, she is… it is… not an Ancient, it is danger and cruel and… frozen? They say it is… frozen… somewhere?”

 

“Jenova is not an Ancient?” Cloud repeated slowly. “She-  _It_  is not an Ancient and is in fact dangerous and cruel and is supposed to be frozen somewhere?”

 

“Y-yes,” Aerith nodded, blinking again as she refocused on Cloud. “She is a Calamity from the Skies. That is what they call her.”

 

“I see.” Cloud didn’t, in fact, see, but now the facts were laid out clearer than ever, and he now had some semblance of a conclusion that supported his hypothesis. “Thank you Aerith, thank you so much for that invaluable information.”

 

Aerith looked at him thoughtfully, tapping the side of her mouth. “You’re not actually just a cadet, are you?”

 

“I’m not a cadet, I’m currently an infantryman waiting to retake the SOLDIER exams,” he corrected her, before shooting her a smile. “But I’m also the secret Director of SOLDIER that no one knows about, and Zack thinks I’m actually three times my size.”

 

“ _Oh_ ,” Aerith laughed, tinkling and high and Cloud could understand why Zack adored the flower church girl so much. “You’re  _that_  Director.”

 

“Yeah,” Cloud agreed, even as Zack tumbled in through the front doors with Wutaian takeaway. “But don’t tell Zack.”

 

“Don’t tell me what?”

 

Cloud just smiled at him.

 

* * *

 

To be honest, he had expected Genesis to crack far earlier. When Sephiroth and Angeal brought the auburn-haired man (who had tried his very best to defect from SOLDIER) and threw him into Cloud’s office, he had merely nodded at the two, before turning to fully acknowledge Genesis.

 

“ _My friend, the fates are cruel_ ,” the First Class intoned sullenly, tossing his fringe out of his eyes. “ _There are no dreams, no honor remains_.”

 

“ _There is no hate, only joy_ ,” Cloud replied, “ _For you are beloved by the goddess_.”

 

“Hmph. You see me and you think I am beloved by the goddess?  _Please_ , don’t make me laugh.” Genesis scoffed and turned his eyes away.

 

Cloud raised an eyebrow at him, before rolling his eyes. “Did you know, Jenova isn’t actually an Ancient?” He commented idly as he shuffled through mission reports. “Apparently she’s an alien. The Ancients call her the ‘Calamity of the Skies’.”

 

There was silence, and Cloud’s lips quirked up, knowing that he’d garnered Genesis’ attention. “I spoke with the last remaining Ancient on the Planet. She’s a half-Ancient, the last surviving one, daughter to an Ancient and a human. It already cancels out the hypothesis that it’s the Ancient cells which are triggering this degradation response in your body. And with my own real life experience at the age of nine, in which mako definitely seeped into my wounds and yet here I stand today, also cancels out Hollander’s supposed hypothesis that it’s the mako which has triggered this degradation response in your body. With further evidence from the half-Ancient, it is clear that the stranger cells in your body are not Ancient cells, but alien cells, and  _this_  is what causes the degradation.”

 

He looked up, and cocked his head at Genesis who was blinking back blankly at him.

 

“It’s not… I have the cells of an  _alien_ , of the  _Calamity of the Skies_  in my body?” Genesis confirmed. He shook his head, sighing bitterly. “ _All that awaits you is a somber morrow, no matter where the winds may blow_. Not only do I have a degradation response in my body, I too, have the cells of an alien?” Genesis looked up, locking eyes with Cloud. “And why do you tell me this?”

 

“Because I have said half-Ancient on the task of searching for a cure from the other Ancients in the Lifestream,” Cloud told Genesis. “The Ancients that roamed this Planet but do no longer once took a stand against this Jenova creature, and they sealed it away at the bottom of North Crater. Surprise surprise, thirty years ago, one Professor Gast Faremis mistakenly identified one creature they excavated from the bottom of North Crater as a Cetra, and it was named Jenova. If the Ancients were able to seal Jenova away for around two thousand years, I’m fairly certain that my half-Ancient friend will be able to help. So don’t go crazy on me,” the blond informed Genesis. “I’ve got this entire thing sort of under control.”

 

“Oh,” Genesis replied, seeming to be in shock. “... Thank you,” he forced out, averting his eyes from the Director of SOLDIER.

 

“Don’t need to thank me,” Cloud said. “... Though I do think that I would enjoy it very much if Hollander and Hojo were out of the picture. They give the three of you too much grief,” he added. “Do you know their favourite chocolate type?” The Director of SOLDIER suddenly asked.

 

* * *

 

A week later, top scientists Hojo and Hollander were reported dead due to poisoning.

 

Cloud was very smug when the announcement was released. Genesis freaked out a bit, because if Cloud’s half-Ancient friend’s idea didn’t work, his last hope at curing his degradation - i.e. Hollander - was dead. Sephiroth smiled grimly and patted Cloud on the head while Angeal gave him a sort of relieved smile.

 

When Aerith made a spring come out of earth, Cloud brought all three of them there, and the First Class SOLDIERs swore that the water was the sweetest thing ever tasted. Cloud, knowing the experiments they had been put through, instructed all of them to drink the healing water, and even announced to the empty church (save for the other three First Class and Aerith) that he would make everyone in SOLDIER who had been exposed to mako and possibly Jenova’s cells drink from this spring at least once. Aerith hadn’t minded, she had just smiled and agreed. The Ancients  _liked_  this novel idea, she told Cloud. They weren’t entirely happy with the way the Planet was running, what with all the reactors and remnants of Jenova’s cells in people, but this was a  _start_ , and a fairly good one at that.

 

Genesis looked a lot better - less gray in his hair, more color in his skin, and a certain liveliness to him that hadn’t been there when the man had found out about his supposed degradation. Cloud called it a win on his part.

 

* * *

 

Three weeks later - and Cloud  _still_  wasn’t a SOLDIER Third Class, after all this - Sephiroth invited him (in not so many words, or that politely either) to embark on a mission in Nibelheim, his hometown. The Director of SOLDIER wasn’t really looking forward to returning to his hometown when he hadn’t joined SOLDIER yet, which was what he had promised his mother and (sort of) Tifa. Of course, he had joined SOLDIER in a way of sorts to be the Director…

 

Even then, it was fairly interesting, with Cloud dressed like an infantryman and wandering around the SOLDIER floor alongside Zack. There, he could truly observe the way SOLDIERs behaved, any underlying issues with the way the program was run, and everyone let their guard down around him, because really? An infantryman, against a couple of SOLDIERs who were physically enhanced? They didn’t see him as a threat.  _Cloud_  didn’t see himself as a threat.

 

But the mission would help in his retake of the SOLDIER exams in two weeks, and Cloud shrugged at Sephiroth, agreeing to it.

 

It was a bit of a pain in the ass though, having to defer to the man during the mission and call him ‘General’ or god forbid, ‘ _sir_ ’, when during office hours, it was usually the other way around. Sephiroth was willing to call Cloud by his name, but reverted to the old handle of ‘sir’ at times.

 

When Cloud reported to Sephiroth, the word ‘sir’ came out of his mouth all awkward and hesitant and funny, and the emotionless Sephiroth quirked his lips up for just a heartbeat before returning to his cold role of the SIlver General.

 

Cloud just pouted at him behind the other SOLDIERs’ backs and informed him that his paperwork would be doubled for a month.

 

He met his mother, but wouldn’t admit that he teared up a bit at seeing her again. He was, and would  _always_ , be a mama’s boy, and spending an entire away from her did things to his emotional capacity and tear ducts.

 

When he told her about Lazard and being the Director of SOLDIER, she had laughed, bright and happy and cheerful, just like how Cloud had remembered her.

 

“Lazard is a good man,” she told him, smiling. “I remember when you brought him home during one of your term breaks, to see me. He was fairly intelligent, could hold a good conversation, couldn’t he? I’m sure he knew you would be a good Director.”

 

“Yeah yeah,” Cloud rolled his eyes. “He practically forced it to me on the train. I was an innocent wide eyed boy who dreamt of meeting Sephiroth and becoming SOLDIER one day, and he messed up my entire perfect timeline.”

 

“Innocent? Wide eyed?” His mother smirked at him. “This coming from the boy who actually reads all the fine print and the terms and conditions of  _any_  contract?”

 

“If you won’t do it, who will?” He defended himself.

 

Sephiroth and his mother got on  _famously_ , and Cloud wasn’t too sure if he appreciated it or not.

 

Eventually, the sun set, and Sephiroth returned to the inn, while Cloud insisted on wandering around a bit.

 

“I’m finally home after a year,” he reminded his mother. “I want to remember everything again.”

 

“You could go see Tifa,” she suggested.

 

“Her father thinks otherwise. I’m going to explore the Shinra Mansion a bit, like old times. Be back by midnight!”

 

He killed a few monsters, complained to Angeal about having to call Sephiroth ‘ _sir_ ’ on his PHS, and stumbled into a secret room that had one gigantic coffin in it. Cloud pushed the cover off, and found himself held against the dusty wall with a  _very_  shiny and  _very sharp_  gold gauntlet thing against his neck, with keen red eyes staring at him.

 

“Uh, hi,” he told the man. “I’m Cloud Strife, nice to meet you.”

 

“...” The man stared at him, long black hair draping around his shoulders. “Do you work for Shinra?”

 

“Do  _you_  work for Shinra?” Cloud shot back. “... Do  _I_ work for Shinra? I think I do. I mean, it wasn’t entirely voluntary, okay maybe it  _was_  but if I had a choice, I would have chosen a different job. Still in Shinra, I think, but a different job. Entirely different. Maybe. Actually this job doesn’t seem half bad.”

 

The gold gauntlet pressed harder against his neck and Cloud took that as his cue to add in a helpful “If you kill me now, you’ll have to deal with a very pissed off Sephiroth come morning, and soon enough, a pissed off Angeal and a maybe pissed off but probably more amused Genesis coming after you. And you would need to find a replacement for the Director of SOLDIER.”

 

“Sephiroth?” The man repeated, and loosened his grip a bit. “What do you know about Sephiroth?”

 

“I work for him,” Cloud said, before pausing and thinking for a while. “He actually works under me as well. I’m the Director of SOLDIER, but I’m also an infantryman until I can retake the SOLDIER exams to become a SOLDIER Third Class.”

 

He thought that he was surprisingly calm for someone who was held at shiny gauntlet point, and apparently so did the mysterious man, for the red eyes lessened their glare and the gauntlet was a few millimetres away from his throat now.

 

“Leave, and never come back,” the man advised him, turning around and sweeping his red cape dramatically. Cloud privately commented that Genesis was better at theatrics, and his cape was by  _far_  redder than the mysterious man’s cape. “It is dangerous here.”

 

“Why don’t you leave as well, then?”

 

“I cannot.” He paused for a while. “Hojo has altered me too far, and I am afraid that I am… I may pose a severe danger to anyone and everyone who get too close to me.”

 

“Hojo is dead,” Cloud told him very matter-of-factly. “I poisoned him with his favourite chocolates. What a way to go.”

 

The man blinked at him, and Cloud blinked back.

 

“You should leave,” he repeated himself. “This is not the place for an infantryman, much less the Director of SOLDIER. Shouldn’t you be sitting behind a desk and doing paperwork?”

 

“Lazard pushed the job onto me when I was on the train to Midgard.  _Such_  a bastard, that man. What’s your name anyways, miscellaneous Hojo experiment?”

 

“Vincent.” The red eyes flickered over to Cloud. “Vincent Valentine.”

 

“Pleasure. Now, surely you would consider getting out of here with me?” Cloud wheedled.

 

When he saw that Vincent didn’t look like he was leaving anytime soon, what with the man crawling back into his coffin, Cloud hurriedly rambled on. “I mean, you  _did_  say that this isn’t the place for an infantryman, much less the Director of SOLDIER - quoting you on that, by the way - and since I am  _both_ , I am very out of my league here, and hence I will need the escort of an undead man with red eyes and black hair and a very shiny gold gauntlet to make my way out of the mansion. Right?”

 

Vincent stared at him for a moment, before the sides of his lips quirked up, very reminiscent of Sephiroth, and stepped away from his coffin. “You make a convincing argument, Cloud Strife,” he said. “Enough to persuade this undead man to help you.”

 

* * *

 

“If I kidnap you somehow and ship you back to Midgard, you can’t hold it against me,” Cloud informed Vincent as the latter steered the former out of the Shinra Mansion. “Because I think it is imperative that you accompany me back to Midgard.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I’m the Director of SOLDIER, and I have  _never_  seen anyone shoot like  _that_ , not even that new Turk who’s apparently really good at shooting. I may love swords, but  _dammit_ , your shooting is incredible. Which is entirely unfair, mind you. I have the jurisdiction to try and entice you to join SOLDIER. What kind of job- no, no, Lazard taught me the proper wording for this, What kind of  _recruitment pitch_  suits you best? I could give you access to as many guns as you’d like, y’know!”

 

Vincent looked fairly amused, and Cloud was glad, because what an entire year of dealing with emotional First Class SOLDIERS taught him was that when they were amused, they gave in easier.

 

“I’d consider it,” Vincent said as he strode alongside Cloud, his ragged red cape swishing behind him. “Especially since Hojo’s gone now.”

 

“Oh yeah, we’d have to kill Jenova too, huh?” Cloud muttered to himself. “Can’t let that alien of aliens affecting  _my_  SOLDIERs anymore. Ew.”

 

“ _Kill_  Jenova?” Vincent repeated.

 

“Yeah, kill.”

 

“... I think you becoming Director of SOLDIER might have one of Lazard’s - whoever that is - better decisions.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review on your way out or drop by my [twitter](https://twitter.com/zxrysky) and [tumblr](http://zxrysky.tumblr.com/)


End file.
